john boehner is really the only republican power in town. so a lot of people think that he's going to have to move toward the president. right now, he's showing absolutely no signs of that. but public opinion is definitely in the president's side. >> the president seems to be counting on here that if no deal is reached, the gop will get the blame from voters. is that the right calculation to make? >> absolutely. polls show that republicans would overwhelmingly be blamed if the united states goes over the proverbial fiscal cliff. and that's why president obama has an advantage, because he's willing -- he says, this is what he and his advisers say, he's willing to send the nation off of the fiscal cliff, letting all income tax rates to jump, spending cuts to take hold, investment income rates to jump. he's willing to do that. he thinks republicans would get the political blame. republicans, on the other hand, note that listen, the president's going to have to have another term where he's dealing with what's likely to be a deep recession as a r